Not everyone in Argentina is convinced about the status of Barcelona star Lionel Messi.

Lanus president Nicolas Russo admits he doesn't rate Messi as the best player in the world.

He said, "Today he is not the best player in the world, he is important.

"How good he is doing is that (Argentina coach Lionel) Scaloni is putting together a project with Messi but not messide-dependent. If he is, the better. I'm not going to say who is the best for me, but he's not Argentine."

On Messi's contract being published, Russo also remarked: "It is an unpleasant situation that he has to live. The leak of the contract clearly came from within the club."